What do we celebrate on Lag BaOmer?
In his book Megilat haMered vehaChurban (“The Tale of the Rebellion and the Destruction”), Dr. Chagi Ben Artzi, professor of history at Bar Ilan...
SUMMARY OF PARASHAT EMOR
THE PRIESTS
In this Parasha, HaShem transmits to Moshe the laws that apply to his brother Aharon, his sons, and all his male descendants, the...
RIBBI SAADIA BENZAQUEN: Rabbi of Rabbis
Some men are more angels than men. That was the case with Ribbi Saadia Benzaquen z”l, my first teacher. He led the beautiful synagogue...
Rabbi Shemuel Laniado (1530-1610) and the pearls beneath the fish
Rabbi Shemuel Laniado belonged to an ancient and prestigious family that descended from Spain. His paternal grandfather, who bore the same name, escaped from...
The Woman Who Discovered Rabbi Akiva
THE FATHER OF THE TALMUD
The Mishna, the Tosefta, the Sifra, and the Sifre, the seminal texts of rabbinical literature, have their origin directly or...
Minds and Stones
IS ANYONE POORER THAN ME?
Rachel, the daughter of Kalba Sabua, married Aqiba, one of her father's herdsmen, because she saw in him an enormous...
How To Thank HaShem? A Lag BaOmer Story
וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב שָׁלֵם עִיר שְׁכֶם .... וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר
Ribbi Shimon Bar Yochai passed away on Lag BaOmer, and it is a widely accepted...
SUMMARY OF ACHARE MOT – QEDOSHIM
1st AliyahThe procedure for the Cohen Gadol on Yom Kippur is established: special garments, personal and communal qorbanot (sacrifices and offerings), and the ceremony...
QEDOSHIM: Navigating Our Relationship with Our Parents
In the Tora, there are two commandments that regulate parent-child relationships. The first one is "kabbed et abikha ve-et imekha," which translates to "Honor...
The infallible Segula of Abba Hilqiya
In the Gemara, Ta’anit 23a, the Rabbis describe the qualities a person must possess for their Tefilot (prayers) to be answered.
Around the year 100...
